Door operating and locking device.



H. PITTS.

DOOR OPERATING AND LOCKING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. 11. m3.

1,139,905. Patented May18,1915. EETS-SHEET H 000 PITTS m m. 4 MW h H. PITTS. I DOOR OPERATING AND LOCKING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JA.N 11, 1913.

1,1 39,905. Patented May 18,1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

amoawtoz 3 H000 Pn-r'rs noon PITTS, or AUST111\T, mm,

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ASSIGNQROF ONE-HALF To FRANK M. covnn'r, or nns'rm, TEXAS.

noon OPERA ING AND LOCKING nnvrcn;

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HoooP1TTs,-a citizen of the United States, residing at Austin, in the county of Travis and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Door Operating and Locking Devices, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing This invention relates to an improved electric door or gate operating and locking device and has for its primary object to 'provide means for automatically opening and closing a door or -gate and locking the same in either its open or closed position.

Another object of the invention is to provide electrieally controlled operating means or gate by hand. i A further object of the invention is to generally improve and simplify apparatus of the above character which is strong, durable and efficient inoperation, and may be installed in structures already in use at comparatively small cost without necessitating any materialalterations in their construction. I

I have shown my improved apparatus as applied .to an elevator, butit' 1S apparent that it may BQJlSt-bd in other situations, such as railway cars or the like.

With the aboveand other objects 'in viewas will become apparent as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain constructions, combinations and arrangements of the parts that I shall hereinafter fully describe and claim.

' I have'not, in this application, claimed my invention in its broadest aspectas such claims are incorporated in my co-pending application filed May'13, 1912, Serial No.

697,011, renewed Sept. 23, 1914, Serial No.

For a full understanding of the invention,

reference is to be had to the following 1 Specifieationbf Letters Patent.

sure in any preferred manner.

lPatented Ma 18, 1915.

Applicatidniiled January 11, 1918. Serial No. 741,604.

scription and accompanying drawings, in whichv o Figure 1 is a front elevation of an elevator door or gate operating apparatus showing diagrammatically the operating circuit; Fig. 2 1s a diagram'of the circuits,

the operating parts being shown in a plane at right angles to thoselshown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail section of the worm gear; Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line 45- 1 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail elevation, partly in section of the cut out device; and- Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic vie-w of a floor section switch.

Referring in detail to the drawings, 5

designates a door or gate of any approved form and construction which is provided upon its upper end with the hanger brackets 6 and 7 respectively which extend above the upper edge of the door. These brackets are connected by means of a horizontal bar 8 which operates in a guide track 9, the longitudinal edges of said track. being flanged as indicated at 10 to receive suitable antifriction rollers 11 arranged between said flanges and." the upper and lower edges of the bar 8. The hanger bracket 7 extends above the guide track 9 and is provided upon its upper end with a suitable bearing 12in which one end of a shaft 13 is ournale'd. Thisshaftis provided with a spiral peripheral groove 14.

Upon the shaft 13, a worm gear 15 1s loosely mounted. This worm gearis engaged by aworm 16 fixed upon the/shaft 18 of a motor 19 which is mounted upon the device, of which the door' or gate is a clo- Upon the shaft 13 and upon opposite sides ofv the worm gear 15, bearing members 20 are loosely arranged, said members being secured to and carried by a suitable" plate 21.

The worm-gear 15-is provided with a radia-ll'y'iextending chamber or socket 22 through the inner end wall of which a p1 n ,-2i 1s movablydisposed, said pin extending nto -the 'cent-ral bore of the gear and adapted for engagement ,in the spiral groove 14 of the shaft 13. An arm 24 is fixed to the outer end of the pin 23 and extends laterall therefrom through an opening 25 provi ed in the gear. 1 Between this arm and the, inner end wall 'of the cham er 22, a

g l e coil tension spring 26 is arranged upon the pin, the inner end of said spring being fixed to the gear and its outer end secured to the pin in any preferred manner. It will thus be apparent that the spring 26 normally acts to hold the inner end of the pin 23 in engagement with the groove 14 of the shaft 13. As shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings,

the base wall of the spiral groove '14 in the shaft at the ends thereof gradually merges into the periphery of said shaft as indicated at 14'. Shock or jar to the parts of the device at the end of the sliding movement of the door or gate will thus be avoidthe gear hub 27, a cam lever is fulcrumed.

The cam end-of this lever is adapted to bear against the outer face of the ring or annulus 28 to force the same inwardly and engage I the beveled siirface 29 thereof with the outer end of the arm 24, thereby forcing the pin 23 outwardly in the chamber 22 of the gear to disengage said pin from the spiral groove 14 in the shaft 13.

The hub 27 of the worm gear 15 is somewhat longer than the face of the gear and constitutes a sleeve through which the shaft 13 plays.

As thus far described, it will be readily understoodthat when motion is transmitted to the gear 15, the same is revolved around the shaft 13 and .said shaft through the medium of the pin 23 operating in the spiral groove 14 is moved longitudinally through the worm gear, thereby sliding the door or gate to its open or closed position. If, however, for any reason the operating mechanism should get out of order, it is simply necessary to shift the ring or annulus 28 in the manner above described to disengage. the pin 23 from the groove of the shaft so that the door may be manually operated.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings, I have illustrated an operating circuit for the motor 19, and in this circuit is included a floor selector switch indicated generally by the numeral 31.

is actuated to close the circuit for the opening movement of the elevator door or gate through the medium of an electromagnet 32 carried by the moving device indicated This switch is not illustrated in detail' nor will it be specifically described in this current supply and the feed wires h-38-39 and 0 lead from the switch 31 to the motor field. The circuit 36 also supplies current to the brake magnet 37 one terminal of which is connected by a wire 38 directly to said circuit. The other terminal is connected by means of a wire 39 to the motor field.

The wiresa and I) lead from the switch 31 to the armature of the motor. These connections are shown in detail in my co-pending application Serial No. 738,494.

The bearings 20 which support one end of the shaft 13 carry cut-out switches A and B respectively. Each cut-out has a horizontally disposed arm 40, said arms eX- tending in relatively opposite directions. These arms are each provided with a contact member 41 with which similar contact members 43 upon levers 42 are adapted to engage. These levers are fulcrumed as at 44 upon one side of the arms 40 and are provided-with rollers45 for a purpose which will be presently disclosed. Compression springs 46 are connected to the inner ends of the levers 42 and to the arms 40 and normally act to hold the contacts 41 and 43 in engagement.

The wires 01, e and f, g are connected respectively to the pairsof contacts 41 and 43 included in the main operating circuit, said wires being connected-to opposed pairs of stationary contacts embodied in the switch 31, as disclosed in my companion application hereinbefore referred to, wherein the connections ,with the floor switch are fully illustrated and to which reference may be had. Upon the shaft 13, adjacent the ends 7 thereof, the adjustable collars 47 are mounted, said collars being provided" with beveled peripheral faces 48.

By means of the structure above described, it will be understood that when the operator closes the circuit 34 by means of ,the switch .35, the magnet 32 on the car is energized to current will now flow as follows: wire h, Wire 6, armature of motor 19, wire a, switch 31, wire f, cut-out'lB, wire 9, wire 0, field of motor, wire 39, brake solenoid, wire 38, to source, and open the door. When it is desired to start-the car,'before the lever of the controller can be thrown, the handle 35 must be manipulated to break the circuit of the magnet 32, The spring will now withdraw the armature of the magnet and throw the attract the armature of the switch 31.. The

lee

'erating circuit, which can only be closed aaea e switch 31 to the position shown in Fig. 6. The current will then flow through wire 71., wire at, cut-out A, wire e, wire a, armature ,of motor (in reverse direction), wire 6, wire 0, field coils of motor,-wire 39, brake solenoid, wire 38 to source, and close the door, Should the car, in any unforeseen manner, be started without the controller having been operated, the magnet 32 will be moved away from the armature of the switch 31, Y

the spring will throw the switch and the door will beclosed as above described.

When the door or gate reaches its full open position, as shown in Fig. 1-, the beveled face 48 ofone of the collars 47 engages the roller 45 on the end of the lever 42 and moves said lever against the action of the'spring 46 to disengage the contacts 41 and 43 of the cut-out B and thus open the operating circuit at this point. When the magnet 32 is .It will thus be seen that even if the car operator neglects'to operate the switch 35- and deenergi'ze the magnet 32-, the door or gate will, nevertheless, be moved to-its closed position and securely locked in such position by the automatic opening ofthe main opthrough the medium ofthe magnet 32 carried bythe car. When the operating circuit is opened in the manner above described, the brake magnet 37 is denergized so that the brake is applied to positively check the continued rotation of the motor shaft and thus prevent slamming of the gate or'door. Any form of magnetic brake may be employed, such as that shown in my co-pending appli cation filed Jan. 11, 1913, Serial No. 741,603.

From the foregoing it is believed that the constructlon and manner of operation of my improved gate operating apparatus will be clearly understood. By means of the same, heavy doorsor gates such as those of elevators or railway cars may be quickly closed and opened and the operator thus relieved of the considerable labor incident to their manual operation.

With my improvement the door or gate will be automatically closed when the car is moved from opposite it, should'the operator fail to close it. r p x As the invention embodies but few parts in its construction, it will be obvious that the same may be inexpensively manufactured and installed at small cost without necessidrive the tating material alterations in the structures.

While I have shown and described what I believe to be the preferred embodiment of the invention, the same may be, however, variously modified as may be occasioned by existingspecial. circumstances without vdeparting from the principle involved or sacrificing any of the advantages hereinbefore specified.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1 The combination 'with-. a slidably mounted door, of a shaft connected at one of its ends to said door and provided with a spiral groove, a gear loosely mounted upon said shaft, means mounted in said gear to rotate therewith and engaging in the groove of said shaft, and a reversible motor to drive said gear and move the shaft axially to move the :door to its open or closed position and means for, automatically disengaging the groove engaging means.

i'rhe combination with a shdably mounted door, of a shaft connected at one? of its ends to said door and provided with a spiral groove, a gear loosely mounted upon said shaft, aspring. pressed pin mounted within the gear and normally engaging in the groove of said shaft, means mounted upon the gear to. move the pin out of engagement with said groove, and a re-- versible motor to drive said gear and move the shaft axially to move said door to its open or closed position.

3. The combination with a slida'bly mounted door, of a shaft connected to said door at ,one of its ends and provided with.

a spiral groove,a gear loosely mounted ,upon said shaft, radially movable spring -held means arranged within the gear and mermally engaged in the groove of said shaft, a reversible motor to drive saidgear and move the shaft axially to open or close the door, and means for holding said means within the gear out of engagement with the.

groove in the shaft to permit of the manual operation ofthe door.

4:. The combination with a slidably mounted door, of a spirally grooved shaft connected at one of its ends to said door, a

and provided with a radially extending chamber, a spring pressed pin mounted in said chamber to engage in the groove of the shaft, a laterally projecting arm fixed to the outer end'of saidin and extending exteriorly of said chax ber, means moimted upon the gear to engage said arm and move worm gear loosely moimted upon said shaft the pin out of engagement with the groove in said shaft, and a reversible motor 'to open or cose the door.

5. The combination. with a slidably mounted door, of a spirally grooved shaftv connected at one of its ends to said door, a

ear and move the shaft axially to X the door, means for automatically disengaging the groove engaging means, and additional means mounted upon the gear for movement with respect thereto and coacting with said first named means to disengage the same from the groove in the shaft to permit of the manual operation of the door.

6. The combination with a slidably mounted door, of a spirally grooved shaft connected atone of its ends to said door, a worm gear loosely mounted upon said shaft, a reversible motor to drive said gear,

a radially movable element mounted within the gear, means normally acting to yieldingly hold said element in engagement with the groove of the shaft, said gear being provided with an opening communicating with said chamber, an arm connected to said element projecting through said. opening, and a cam actuated member mounted upon the gear to engage said arm and move the element out of engagement with the groove in the shaft to permit of the manual operation of the door. a

7. The combination with a slidably mounted door, of a spirally grooved shaft connected at one of its ends to said door, a

worm gear loosely mounted upon said shaft, a spring pressed pin arranged within said gear and normally engaging in the groove of the shaft, a reversible motor to drive said gear and move the shaft axially in either direction to open or close the door, and means mounted upon the gear and movable longitudinally of the shaft to disengage said pin from the groove in the shaft and permit of the manual operation of the oor.,

8. The combination with a slidably mounted door, of a shaft connected at one of its ends to said door, said shaft being provided with a spiral groove merging into the periphery of the shaft at its ends, a worm gear loosely mounted on said shaft, a

spring pressed pin radially movable in said A gear and normally engaged in the groove of said shaft, a reversible motor to drive said gear and move the shaft axially in either direction to open or close the door, and a manuallyoperable element mounted upon the gear and movable longitudinally of said shaft. to disengage said pin from the groove in the shaft and permit of the manual operation of the door.,

mounted door, of a spirally grooved shaft connected at one of its ends, to said door, a worm gear loosely mounted upon said shaft, a spring pressed pin carried by said gear normally engaged in the grooye of the shaft,

9. The combination with a slidably a reversible motor to drive said gear and move the shaft axially to open or close the door, an arm fixed toone end of said pin, an annulus movable longitudinally of said shaft, and manually operable means to engage the annulus and engage the same with said arm to move the pin out of the groove in the shaft and permit of the manual opera tion of the door. V r

10. The combination with a slidably mounted door, of a spirally grooved shaft connected at one of its ends to said door, a worm gear loosely mounted upon said shaft, a spring pressed pin carried by said gear normally engaged in the groove of the shaft, a reversible motor to drive said gear and move the shaft axially to open or close the door, an arm fixed to one end of said pin, a member movable longitudinally of the shaft having a beveled face, and manually operablemeans to move said member and engage the'bevfeled face thereof with said arm to move said pin out of the groove in the shaft and permit of the manual operation of the'door.

11, The combination with a slidably' mounted door, of a spirally grooved shaft connected at one of its ends to said door, a worm gear loosely mounted upon said shaft, a spring pressed pin carried by said gear normally engaged in the groove of theshaft, a reversible motor to drive said gear and move the shaft axially to open or close the door, an arm fixed to one end of said pin, an annulus mounted upon said gear and movable longitudinally with respect to said shaft,

said annulus having a beveled peripheral face, and a manually operable cam mounted upon the gear to move said annulus and engage'the beveled face thereof with said arm, to move the pin out of the groove in the shaft and permit of the manual operation of the door. p Q

12. In a door operating apparatus, an operating shaft having a spiral groove, a sleeve tive longitudinal movement of the sleeve and shaft, means for automatically raising the groove engaging means from the groove, and means for imparting rotative movement to the sleeve. I

loo

surrounding the shaft, means carried by the sleeve to engage the groove to impart rela-v 13. In a door operating apparatus, an

-operating shaft having a spiral groove, a

sleeve surrounding the shaft, means carried by the sleeve to engage the groove to impart relative longitudinal movenient of the sleeve and shaft, means carried by the shaft for automatically raising the groove engaging means from the groove, and means for imparting rotative movement to the sleeve.

l lalin a door operating apparatus, an operating shaft having a spiral groove, a sleeve surrounding the shaft, means carried by the sleeve to engage the g oove to impart 10 therefor relative longitudinal movement of the sleeve and shaft, means for automatically raising the groove engaging means, means for imparting rotative movement to the sleeve, and means carried by the sleeve for manually disengaging thegroove engaging means.

15. The combination with a slidably mounted door and motor actuated operating means including an axially movable shaft, an electric circuit for the motor, of bearing members on the shaft, cut out devices mounted upon said bearing members and included in said circuit, each of said 15 cutout devices including a stationary contact member, a spring pressed lever, a movsliding movement of the door in either direction.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

- HOOD PITTS. Witnesses:

W. B. ANTHONY, GEO. T. HUME. 

